HungaryTrends – The week in business and finance

See below the main business and financial news from the previous week:

HOW MUCH DO YOU HAVE TO WORK IN HUNGARY TO BUY A BIG MAC OR AN IPHONE 

In Budapest, you would need to work for almost an hour to earn enough money to buy a Big Mac, according to the UBS. They did an international survey, working with average salaries and average prices. Read more HERE. 

HUNGARIAN ENERGY DRINK CONQUERING THE WORLD 

According to last year’s survey, 59 percent of young adults ages 19 to 29 consume energy drinks, at least on occasion. This means that energy drinks are in the top 20 food categories, along with margarine, cat food and candies. Read more HERE.

FORINT FINDING NEW EQUILIBRIUM LEVEL, SAYS FINANCE MINISTER 

The forint is finding a new equilibrium level, adjusting to conditions on international markets, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said in an interview published in Friday’s issue of business daily Világgazdaság. Read more HERE. 

PARLIAMENT APPROVES 2019 BUDGET

Parliament wound up the summer session, approving the 2019 budget and a package of tax changes, as well as reinforcing legal protection for business secrets and raising the film production tax rebate from 25 percent to 30 percent. Read more HERE.

CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT JUMPS 15.1 IN MAY

Output of Hungary’s construction sector rose 15.1 percent year-on-year in May, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) said. Output of the building segment rose 8.8 percent during the period. Output of the civil engineering segment climbed 23.7 percent. Read more HERE.

LUCART COMPLETES EUR10.7 M PLANT IN HUNGARY

Italian paper products company Lucar completed a 3.5 billion forint (EUR 10.7m) plant in Nyergesújfalu, in western Hungary. The plant will recycle byproducts from the company’s plants in Italy and France for sale on markets in Central Europe.

HUNGARY EU FUNDING COULD BE CUT 25 PC

Hungary could get about one-quarter less from the Cohesion Fund in the next European Union budget cycle, Marc Lemaitre, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, said at an event hosted by the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DUIHK). Innovation, support for SMEs, developing digital technologies, sustainable modernisation of the industrial sector and combating climate change will be priority goals of the 2021-27 budget, he said. Read more HERE.

GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES EUR 153M TO SUPPORT HUNGARIAN-OWNED BUSINESSES IN BORDER REGIONS

Hungary’s government allocated 50 billion forints (EUR 153m) in support for businesses in border regions with large ethnic Hungarian populations for next year, a resolution published in the official gazette Magyar Közlöny showed. The support will be used for grants and interest subsidies for Hungarian-owned businesses in border regions in Serbia, Ukraine, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania and Slovakia.

Featured image: MTI

Source: MTI